It's Alcohol Awareness Month

                          
Thanks to the NCADD, the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc. every April is Alcohol Awareness Month. This is a good time to evaluate your own dependence on alcohol. It is a good time to evaluate the degree to which you rely on alcohol for any type of satisfaction.

If you find that you may be struggling to pass your classes, struggling with keeping happy relationships: family or friendships, or your health is deteriorating because of alcohol; it is time to get help.

It is not something to be ashamed of, more than a half of college students have issues with drinking according to Sobering Up Blog. The idea is to realize the problems, if any, that alcohol is bringing into your life.

There are many alternatives to turn to for pleasure, rather than consume alcohol. 

• Getting together with your peers and forming positive groups on campus is a good start to creating a healthy solution. 
• Turning to someone for support is always helpful. 
• If stress is overcoming you, treat yourself to something nice. A relaxing massage, for instance.

Henderson, Heidi. Digital image. Reclaiming Beauty. Web. 8 Apr. 2014. 

Putting the Drink Down and Investing In Yourself.

Many college students, like myself, have succumb to the ritual of binge drinking. Social pressure to drink in college is relatively high, because most students are looking for a release after a long week of studying.

If you are enrolled in college, or live in a college town, like myself, then it is completely understandable to have fun and experiment with new social situations.

The key is to know your limits. Life is a balancing act.

Being happy is an emotion we all hope to have, at every given moment in time. In college, meeting new people and trying new things can bring excitement in your life, and can promote a feeling of of euphoria. The hard truth is that in college most students are surrounding themselves with a false sense of happiness, since they are drinking to feel free. It is important to remember than alcohol is a depressant, and eventually it will make your life harder than it needs to be in many ways.

 I'm not saying that every college student drinks, but it is proven that most do drink at least once every weekend.

Focusing on making friends and having a good time, sober, is a good determinant of whether what you are doing is truly making you happy. Although, occasionally having a drink with a few friends isn't completely wrong. Being safe and comfortable in a social situation is of most importance, and that's why drinking should be kept at a minimum.

To Alcohol. Digital image. Hqwallbase.com. Web. April 8th, 2014

Road Wars

A frightening repercussion of drinking is injuring yourself and others while drunk driving. According to the blog Sobering Up, "The average undergrad is drunk 10 hours a week." Heavy drinking has been a problem on college campuses for ages. As students congregate for social events, it is highly likely that the student will participate in drinking activities. Most holidays, Halloween for example, are occasions where many undergraduates are 'getting hammered' to fit in and have a good time. As the weekend rolls around, gas stations and liquor stores are flooded with students grabbing an abundance of beer and liqueurs.

Many students end up in trouble with the police, and with a DWI after a drunken night on the town. As stated by the NCADD, over 5,000 deaths occur from underage drinking. About 1,900 of those deaths are from motor vehicle accidents.

Just stop to think about how much money you can save if you don't get behind the wheel while intoxicated. You don't need the $10,000 fine, plus jail time. It is well worth it to save your life, as well as, other innocent driver's lives around you. Call a taxi, cab, or friend if you think you may have consumed too much booze.

Binge drinking is considered 5 drinks for men and 4 drinks for women, consumed in a short period of time. If you have been or plan to chug back amounts such as this, of any type of alcohol, then consider an alternative to driving. The cops are always out on the prowl on any day of the week.

If you must drink multiple alcoholic beverages, do not drink and drive.